Ringing Bells, touted as the maker of the world's cheapest smartphone, will import its first 50 lakh handsets, confirmed a government official to

Ringing Bells, touted as the maker of the world's cheapest smartphone, will import its first 50 lakh handsets, confirmed a government official to The Hindu Business Line . The company claims to have received five crore registrations in just two days of opening up its online pre-orders and has promised the delivery of first 50 lakh phones by June 30.

The Noida-based start-up has also said that out of the 50 lakh handsets, 25 lakh will be given to the online orders while the other 25 lakh would be those received offline. While the online booking was done through the company's own website, the offline order strategy remains shrouded by confusion. At the phone launch Ashok Chadha explained about economies of scale behind the business model. Chadha had clearly said that the company would be selling phones only through its online e-commerce platform to help reduce the cost of phone.

The telecom ministry is already in doubts about its pricing after an internal assessment and said that the phone cannot be offered at a price below Rs 2300- Rs 2400. However, Mohit Goel, the director of Ringing Bells told The Times of India that the company will make a profit of Rs 31 on each handset sold. Adding to the confusion, Chadha now says that it costs Rs 1,500 to make the phone. Earlier he said that the bill of materials of the device was worth Rs 2,500.

Ringing Bells was established in 2015 and it has been making headlines for the Freedom 251, a smartphone priced at Rs 251. The company has faced continuous suspicion for the disruptive affordability of its device and unclear business strategy. The phone was missing at its launch event and the units that were given to the journalists had the Adcom logo which was covered with a whitener.

"Has there ever been a case of income-tax evasion against me or my company, or has there been an FIR filed against me in any police station? Why am I being called a 'bhagora' (who'll run away with the money)? I intend to do a valid business, just like any other startup, and I have a business plan ready," said Goel when asked about the criticism that the company has been facing since its announcement of Freedom 251.

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